Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

"My master also shares an irreconcilable enmity with Wei Yan."

Zhao Xun naturally had smiling eyes that gave an illusion of approachability, yet those same eyes held a distant coldness: "Approaching the Marquis was never about borrowing your influence. My master simply believes that once you learn the truth about the Jinzhou battle sixteen years ago, you too would wish to personally execute Wei Yan. The previous concealment of identity wasn't intentional—my master merely wished to reveal himself at the proper time."

Xie Zheng's gaze turned icy sharp, though a suspicion had already formed in his mind. Still, he asked, "Who is your master?"

Zhao Xun replied, "The one who miraculously survived the great fire in the Eastern Palace sixteen years ago."

A cold smirk tugged at Xie Zheng's lips. "The imperial grandson? If he still lives, shouldn't he have sought alliance with Grand Tutor Li's faction? Why wait until now to approach a defeated dog like me?"

Zhao Xun's expression turned troubled. "You've investigated the traces of the Jinzhou battle from sixteen years ago. You must know how thoroughly Wei Yan eliminates all evidence—leaving no loose ends. When the Crown Prince died and the Eastern Palace burned, even with the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Revision jointly investigating under the Late Emperor's orders, they found nothing conclusive. How much harder would it be now, when all has changed? Grand Tutor Li leads the righteous faction at court, but he wouldn't stake everything to oppose the Wei Faction for my master's sake. You're different, Marquis. General Xie died on the battlefield, his corpse hung from the city walls by the Northern Jue for three days—Wei Yan bears responsibility for that too. Don't you wish to avenge this?"

Xie Zheng's fingers clenched, a murderous aura seeping from his very bones, making the spacious chamber feel suffocating. "Tell me then—what truly happened sixteen years ago?"

Zhao Xun said, "Despite years of hiding, my master found no concrete clues about the Jinzhou battle. After the Eastern Palace fire, the investigation concluded it was caused by a night attendant knocking over a candle while asleep. But according to loyal servants who survived, assassins stormed the palace that night. The Crown Princess ordered her attendants to flee with the young heir while she remained in the chambers with the heir's childhood companion. The body found in the ruins was that companion."

"With Chengde Crown Prince's death and the Late Emperor's passing, Wei Yan has controlled the court through the young emperor for over a decade. The Jinzhou battle was undoubtedly his doing. General Xie's death alongside the Crown Prince merely served to clear Wei Yan of suspicion."

Xie Zheng's dark eyes lifted slightly, impatience tightening his brow. "I demand evidence, not conjecture."

Zhao Xun smiled faintly. "When Changxin Wang rebelled in Chongzhou, one of his strategists was my master's man. He proposed the slogan 'Purge the Court of Evil, Remove the Wei Faction' and spread rumors that Wei Yan orchestrated the Jinzhou Massacre. You know what followed—merely reviewing the case records made Wei Yan attempt your life."

Xie Zheng narrowed his eyes, his gaze razor-sharp as he laughed coldly. "So I was but a piece in your scheme."

Zhao Xun stiffened. "You overestimate us, Marquis. My master only wishes to ally with you."Seeing Xie Zheng's displeased expression, Zhao Xun quickly added, "That old traitor Wei Yan indeed revealed his flaws after the explosion. His Martial Assassins have crossed one capital and seventeen prefectures, killing over a dozen people. My master has identified some of them—they were all former retainers who served Wei Yan before retiring."

Xie Zheng asked, "I suppose you've also uncovered the identity of that Fan butcher's family?"

Zhao Xun looked ashamed. "The identity of that Fan butcher is sealed tighter than a drum. No matter how thoroughly my master investigated—whether in the Fan family's ancestral home or this town—every covert inquiry confirmed his existence. Even the government has records of his escort missions from over a decade ago. It seems someone in the authorities deliberately helped conceal his past identity."

For a moment, Xie Zheng's mind wandered to how Fan Changyu had spoken of her parents' past. A snowflake landed on the back of his hand, its melting chill snapping him back to focus.

Leaning back slightly, he draped one arm over the rosewood Grand Tutor chair's armrest. His casual posture radiated an overwhelming pressure. "Expecting this Marquis to believe your master is the imperial grandson who supposedly perished in a fire sixteen years ago, based solely on your words, is laughable."

Zhao Xun's expression changed, but before he could speak, Xie Zheng continued, "This Marquis will investigate the truth behind the Jinzhou battle sixteen years ago myself. Whether your master is the real imperial grandson or an imposter matters not. If you wish this alliance to continue, he'd best come see me in person."

Zhao Xun's face darkened, but he could only clasp his hands and say, "This Zhao will relay the Marquis's words."

As Xie Zheng stood, his eyelids drooped lazily. "And tell him to decide what he'll offer in exchange for those two hundred thousand bushels of grain."

Zhao Xun's already bowed frame bent even lower. "Understood."

When leaving, Xie Zheng placed the jade ring—originally a token of their alliance—back on the rosewood table.

His prolonged pretense with this Zhao fellow had merely been to uncover which faction he represented. The "imperial grandson" answer was unexpected indeed.

Xie Zheng wasn't worried about losing track of them. When sending Zhao to purchase grain, he'd already had his own men secretly monitor the Zhao family's intelligence outposts. Peeling back the layers from these leads, he'd soon uncover the mastermind even if they didn't show themselves.

While he did bear grudges against Wei Yan, someone daring to scheme against him before the dust had settled—simply to make him their pawn—clearly underestimated his ruthlessness.

Exiting the bookstore and finding the Fan sisters hadn't arrived yet, Xie Zheng frowned slightly and headed toward Head Constable Wang's residence.

Before long, he encountered Fan Changyu and Changning. The younger girl's cheeks bulged with candy as she skipped along, her chubby hand held by Changyu, whose face shone with bright, vibrant smiles.

Spotting Xie Zheng, her smile didn't waver. She waved from afar and called out as they approached, "We're not returning to town tonight."

Seeing her smile lifted some of the gloom from Xie Zheng's heart. "Why not?" he asked.Fan Changyu said, "Shopkeeper Yu has opened another Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion in the county town. The son of a local official is getting married and has booked the banquet there. They need to prepare a large amount of braised meat tomorrow, and Shopkeeper Yu is worried they won't have enough time, so he asked me to go help with the preparation early tomorrow morning. Coincidentally, the county is hosting a Lantern Festival this year, so we can go see the lanterns in the evening."

Xie Zheng asked, "Should we find an inn first?"

Fan Changyu shook her head. "Shopkeeper Yu has already arranged accommodation for us. The kitchen helpers and servers at Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion not only get their meals covered by the establishment, but Shopkeeper Yu also rented a nearby residential area where they can stay for free."

Xie Zheng raised an eyebrow slightly. "This shopkeeper is quite an unusual person."

Fan Changyu laughed. "Indeed, Shopkeeper Yu is very kind. All the staff at the restaurant respect him. I heard from Chef Li that other restaurant owners in the county were jealous of Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion's business and tried to poach the manager Shopkeeper Yu had personally promoted. They offered twice the salary, but the manager still refused to leave."

Xie Zheng simply said, "Sometimes, loyalty is indeed more valuable than money."

Fan Changyu enthusiastically shared many things about Yu Qianqian with him, but his responses were indifferent, so she eventually stopped. Noticing he wasn't carrying anything, she asked, "Weren't you going to buy paper and ink? Why did you come back empty-handed?"

A thought occurred to her, and her expression turned complicated. "Don't tell me you spent all your money buying things for Ning Niang? If you were short on funds, you should have told me..."

Xie Zheng gave a faint smile, the gloom from leaving the bookstore mostly gone. "No."

Under Fan Changyu's suspicious gaze, he explained, "The things at the county bookstore were too expensive. I'll buy them when we return to town."

Fan Changyu asked, "Then why did you stay at the bookstore for so long?"

Xie Zheng replied, "I was reading and lost track of time."

Fan Changyu asked curiously, "If you read for so long without buying anything, wouldn't the bookstore owner give you a hard time?"

Xie Zheng glanced at her. "Who told you that?"

Fan Changyu almost mentioned how Song Yan had once been treated poorly by a bookstore owner for only reading without buying, which left him in a bad mood for days. Later, he would mock that owner for being money-grubbing. But remembering how venomous Xie Zheng became whenever Song Yan was mentioned, she swallowed her words and muttered, "Just a guess."

Xie Zheng studied her for a moment, and Fan Changyu instinctively tensed, afraid he might say something cutting. Fortunately, he didn't mock her the rest of the way.

Since it was already late and they had decided to stay in the county for the night, Fan Changyu still wanted to take Xie Zheng and Changning to see the lanterns in the evening. Instead of heading straight to the accommodation arranged by Yu Qianqian, they stopped at a restaurant for a late-night snack.

On the first day of the new year, only relatively well-off families would eat out.

At the next table, a young couple seemed to have finished their meal. When the waiter came to settle the bill, he smiled at the man and said, "Sir, the total is one tael and two mace."

The man looked frail and scholarly, his expression somewhat timid and uneasy.

The woman beside him said, "He doesn't have money. I'll pay."

Her loud voice drew the attention of many diners in the restaurant.Some people whispered among themselves, "A grown man having his meal paid for by a woman outside—how disgraceful!"

"Tsk tsk, probably just a pretty boy living off someone!"

"I know that guy—he's the live-in son-in-law of the An family, a freeloader. Who knows what that An family woman sees in that spineless fool!"

The man's face burned crimson with shame, wishing he could vanish into the ground.

After the woman settled the bill, he practically fled the restaurant with his head hung low.

Xie Zheng had long finished his meal, watching the earlier commotion with detached indifference.

Across from him, Fan Changyu polished off her third bowl of rice and cleaned every last morsel from the dishes before finally setting down her chopsticks with satisfaction. "Waiter, the bill!" she called.

Fan Changyu had a hearty appetite, and since it was New Year's Eve, she'd ordered a generous spread—though without alcohol, the total wasn't outrageous.

After tallying, the waiter announced, "Eight qian of silver."

As Fan Changyu reached for her purse, Xie Zheng—who'd been sitting opposite her like a jade statue—spoke up: "I'll pay."

Both he and Fan Changyu were exceptionally striking in appearance, already drawing frequent glances in the small eatery. His words now drew even more curious looks their way.

Remembering the earlier couple's incident, Fan Changyu paused her purse retrieval when Xie Zheng offered to pay.

But as Xie Zheng reached into his robe, his expression shifted slightly.

Noticing this, Fan Changyu shot him a questioning look.

A moment later, Xie Zheng withdrew his hand and met her gaze. "You do it," he said.