Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

The moon set in the frosty sky, and cold stars dotted the heavens.

A man in apricot-yellow robes left the bustling Lantern Festival street, his mood sullen as he headed toward the pleasure district.

While the festival was alive with noise and excitement, the other streets and alleys untouched by the lantern light lay like beasts lurking silently in the dark, eerie and dangerous.

Fortunately, just a street away, the pleasure district hung with red lanterns came into view, its lights casting a seductive glow once more.

As the man in yellow passed through this unavoidable route away from the festival, something suddenly descended over his head, blocking his vision. He barely had time to scream before a heavy blow struck his abdomen. The excruciating pain made him curl up instantly, the cry dying in his throat.

Then a fierce kick landed on his backside, sending him tumbling into a pitch-black alley, where a rain of blows from sticks and fists pummeled him.

The man wailed and begged, curling into a ball inside the burlap sack with his arms shielding his head, "Spare me, good sirs! Stop! I have money—take all the silver on me, just let me go!"

No one answered. Instead, several punches landed on his face through the sack.

His screams grew even more pitiful. Passersby who heard the cries from the dark alley dared not intervene for fear of trouble, only shouting from a distance, "Call the authorities! Someone's being beaten in that alley!"

Fan Changyu, not wanting to leave behind evidence, quickly stashed her laundry bat and carefully yanked the burlap sack off the man’s upper body.

But she pulled too hard. The force sent the man face-first into the ground, breaking one of his front teeth. His agonized shriek was so loud it could be heard all the way to the pleasure district.

Changyu froze for a moment. Hearing hurried footsteps approaching the alley entrance, she wasted no time and sprinted toward the other end.

She had deliberately chosen this dark alley, which connected to streets on both sides, for an easy escape.

Xie Zheng was waiting at the far end with Changning. The two met without a word, moving swiftly away from the scene in perfect sync.

Only after putting two streets between them did Xie Zheng ask, "What did you do to him?"

Given the man’s bloodcurdling screams, it didn’t sound like a simple beating.

Changyu said, "I didn’t do anything. He was just too clumsy. When I pulled the sack, he stumbled and broke his tooth on the ground."

Xie Zheng glanced at her sideways, skepticism clear in his gaze.

Changyu insisted, "...I’m not lying."

Xie Zheng asked, "Are we still dealing with the others?"

Changyu nearly rolled her eyes. "No. Beating all of them in one day would just make it obvious it was me. That one had a foul mouth, so I roughed him up first to vent. The others can wait for another chance."

Meanwhile, the man in yellow, still howling in the alley, was finally helped up by the arriving officers.

Both his eyes were blackened, one front tooth was missing, his mouth was full of blood, and two streams of crimson dripped from his nose. By the torchlight, he finally spotted his broken tooth on the ground and wailed, "My tooth! How am I supposed to enter officialdom now?!"

As the county magistrate’s nephew, he barked at the constables, "What are you waiting for? Investigate! Arrest the thugs who assaulted me!"The constable on duty today wiped the sweat from his temple and asked, "Young master, have you made any enemies recently?"

The man in the yellow robe thought carefully, wincing from the pain as he spoke, "A few days ago, that little bastard from the Wang family tried to steal a courtesan from me at the brothel. I humiliated him—it’s probably him! And that son of the Liu family, who acts all high and mighty but failed the imperial exams again—I mocked him too, so it could also be him. Oh, and the Li family..."

The constable’s head spun as the man listed a string of people he had conflicts with.

Finally, the man in yellow remembered the incident at tonight’s Lantern Festival and added, "Oh, tonight I also helped Brother Song mock his former fiancée."

The matter wasn’t exactly honorable—after all, many had witnessed the county’s top scholars being left speechless by a mere son-in-law. He cut himself off and asked, "Were Brother Song Yan and the others attacked by the assailants too?"

When the constable shook his head, the man immediately scoffed, "A butcher’s daughter and her sickly son-in-law? I doubt they’d have the guts. Go investigate the families I mentioned earlier!"

As the constables set off to investigate, the man groaned and was helped to a nearby clinic to treat his injuries.

When Fan Changyu arrived at the temporary lodgings arranged by the Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion, the matron was still awake.

Seeing them, she smiled and asked, "Did you enjoy the Lantern Festival?"

Changning had already fallen asleep on Xie Zheng’s shoulder on the way back. Changyu, still feeling a bit guilty about the fight, replied vaguely, "It was nice. Very lively, with people everywhere."

The matron led them to a room, opening the door with a smile. "This is the only room left. Please make do for the night."

Changyu thanked her and asked for a pot of hot water to wash up. After quickly wiping Changning’s hands and face, she tucked the child into bed.

She washed her own face but found little hot water left in the pot. Not wanting to trouble the matron to boil more at this late hour, she poured the used wash water into the foot basin for a quick soak.

By the time Xie Zheng finished washing his face with the remaining hot water, her feet were still in the basin. Seeing him about to pour out the wash water, she quickly said, "Just pour it in here."

Xie Zheng hesitated for a moment before carrying the basin over.

Changyu lifted her feet and rested them on the edge of the basin to make it easier for him.

Perhaps due to years without sunlight, her feet were strikingly pale, glowing like warm jade in the candlelight, with a small black mole near her ankle that stood out oddly.

Xie Zheng glanced briefly before lowering his gaze to avoid looking further.

In the capital, a woman’s bare feet being seen was akin to losing her virtue. But in this border town, customs were more relaxed—women washing clothes by the river often went barefoot without a second thought.

Though her carefree nature made this gesture hardly improper, Xie Zheng still felt a faint unease.

Changyu noticed him sitting far away after pouring the water and asked, "Aren’t you going to soak your feet?"

Xie Zheng replied, "You go first. I’ll rinse mine with cold water outside later."

Changyu widened her eyes. "In this freezing weather? You’ll catch a cold by tomorrow!"Over the past month of living together, she had noticed that Yan Zheng was a cleanly person. Thinking he didn't want to use water she'd already used, she said: "In our family, we used to soak our feet in the same basin of water. I forgot about your cleanliness habits. Later I'll go ask the housekeeper and boil another pot of water for you in the kitchen."

Xie Zheng frowned slightly before finally saying: "No need, this water will do."

The Fan family members were all quite clean, frequently changing their shoes and socks, so the used water didn't look dirty at all.

It was just that his mind was in turmoil.

When he put his feet into the basin and saw the water marks on the rim, his mind involuntarily pictured her feet resting there moments before.

Xie Zheng's brows instantly furrowed deeper. His feet had barely touched the water when he hastily stood up to empty the basin.

Changyu sat at the table, watching with her mouth slightly agape. When he returned, she said with complicated emotions: "There's nothing wrong with having cleanliness habits. I don't think you're being disdainful. You don't need to force yourself like this..."

Xie Zheng looked into her sincere, clear eyes under the candlelight, his handsome features showing self-disgust as he simply said: "It's not what you think."

With only one bed and one quilt in the room, he placed the wooden basin back inside and headed for the door: "You should rest early."

Changyu found his behavior rather strange. "What about you?" she asked.

Surely he wouldn't sit outside all night? The housekeeper had clearly said this was the only room left.

Xie Zheng replied: "I'll go ask if I can share a room with the staff at Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion."

Even after he left and the door closed behind him, Changyu still wore a slightly bewildered expression.

Why was he suddenly treating her like some kind of monster?

Had the burlap sack prank scared him that much?

Or was the foot-washing water really that traumatizing?