Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

Inside the tent, Xie Zheng frowned at the chicken blood staining his clothes and cloak. "Isn't this too much blood?"

Gongsun Yin, while directing Xie Qi to take the freshly slaughtered pheasant to the cookhouse camp for soup, replied, "Haven't you seen the wounded soldiers in the camp? Some are missing arms or legs, all covered in blood. Miss Fan has seen plenty while helping there. If we don't make it convincing, how will we fool her?"

As he spoke, he spotted a stray feather from the pheasant's struggle still clinging to the edge of the cloak and quickly plucked it off.

Noticing that despite Xie Zheng's pale complexion and the faint dark circles under his eyes, there was no sign of fever, he couldn't help but add, "You spent all last night in the cold wind and washed your hair with cold water. How come you're not even slightly feverish?"

Xie Zheng: "..."

Gongsun Yin resignedly said, "Fine, fine. This should be enough for the self-inflicted injury ploy."

Xie Wu's voice came from outside the tent, "He's inside!"

Gongsun Yin quickly stepped back and sat on a nearby stool, adopting a sorrowful expression.

Fan Changyu hurried in with the Army Doctor and immediately spotted Xie Zheng lying weakly on the bed, his clothes stained with a glaring patch of blood.

Her heart clenched as she rushed forward, "Yan Zheng!"

Xie Zheng's eyes were tightly shut, his lips chapped, his face as pale as snow, with disheveled hair scattered across his forehead and faint dark circles under his eyes, looking utterly haggard and disheveled.

Changyu felt as if a hand had gripped her heart, the dark bloodstains on the cloak stinging her eyes with unshed tears.

How could someone who was fine just yesterday suddenly end up like this?

Holding onto her remaining composure, she stepped aside and urged the Army Doctor, "Please, check his pulse quickly!"

The Army Doctor, also alarmed by the scene, quickly took Xie Zheng's wrist to feel his pulse. Sensing the steady beat beneath his fingers, the doctor's expression flickered with surprise, but when he looked up, Gongsun Yin gave him a meaningful glance.

The doctor quickly cleared his throat and put on a grave face, continuing to examine the pulse while Changyu's heart pounded anxiously.

After a long moment, the Army Doctor finally withdrew his hand and said, "Miss Fan, your husband's condition is extremely critical!"

Changyu pleaded, "Army Doctor, please save him!"

The doctor stroked his goatee hesitantly, "Coughing up blood like this suggests that his previous injuries have left significant internal bleeding in his lungs. He needs nourishing yin and moistening the lungs, and due to excessive blood loss and liver fire, he also requires nourishing blood and stopping bleeding. I'll prescribe some medicine for him to take, but someone must watch over him at all times to prevent him from choking on blood while unconscious."

Changyu, now filled with dread, quickly assured, "I won't leave his side for a moment."

As the Army Doctor left to prepare the medicine, Changyu gazed at Xie Zheng lying amidst the bloodstains, her nose tingling with unshed tears, guilt inevitably washing over her.

Yan Zheng was still recovering from serious injuries—why had she been so stubborn yesterday, saying she wouldn't come back? If anything happened to him, she might regret it for the rest of her life.

Seeing Changyu's expression, Gongsun Yin knew their self-inflicted injury ploy had succeeded. He comforted her at just the right moment, "Miss Fan, don't worry too much. Young Master Yan is sure to pull through."As Fan Changyu entered the tent, all her attention had been focused on Xie Zheng. Only then did she notice Gongsun Yin was also present. "Gongsun is here too?" she asked.

Gongsun Yin lied without batting an eye: "Young Master Yan suddenly coughed up blood, and Xiao Wu panicked. I happened to be inspecting the camp nearby, so I told him to fetch the army doctor while I watched over Young Master Yan temporarily."

Changyu thanked Gongsun on Xie Zheng's behalf. Gongsun smiled and said, "We're all brave warriors of Great Yin fighting on the battlefield. Only by preserving our lives can we continue protecting our nation's rivers and mountains. No thanks needed. Now that Miss Fan is here to watch over him, I'll take my leave."

After seeing Gongsun off, Changyu pulled up a small stool and sat by Xie Zheng's bedside, murmuring gloomily, "You must get better."

Perhaps because she was too close, Changyu suddenly sniffed hard at the bloody scent from the cloak.

Having slaughtered pigs frequently, she was sensitive to the smell of pig's blood. After days of living by the sword, she was also familiar with the scent of human blood. But the blood on these beddings not only smelled strongly of blood—why was there also a faint feathery odor?

As she leaned in for a closer sniff, Xie Zheng, who had been "unconscious for hours," suddenly fluttered his long lashes and weakly opened his eyes.

Changyu instantly forgot everything else in her joy. "Yan Zheng, you're awake?" she exclaimed.

Xie Zheng gazed at her for a moment before replying hoarsely, "You came." His voice was broken and raspy, as though his throat had been injured from excessive coughing.

Those simple words made Changyu's heart ache again. She tucked the blankets around him and said, "The army doctor said your coughing blood is from internal injuries that need careful recuperation. I'll stay here from now on, so you can focus on recovering."

Xie Zheng's pale lips were stained with blood, making him appear even more fragile. He spoke slowly, "I heard about what happened in Jizhou."

Unsure what he meant, Changyu remained silent as he continued with difficulty, "After all you've been through, you're no longer just an ordinary woman from Lin'an Town who only knew how to slaughter pigs and sell meat. It was wrong of me to blame you so harshly after your return."

Hearing him apologize again for yesterday's harsh words only made Changyu feel more ashamed. She lowered her eyes and muttered, "The lesson you gave me was right. The soldiers and I escaping unscathed from the mountain was just luck. If Brother Aqi hadn't brought reinforcements in time, we might all have been trampled to death under the rebels' horses."

Gathering her courage, she finally looked up to meet Xie Zheng's gaze. "It was narrow-minded of me to get angry at you after being scolded. I'll change."

Filled with remorse, she noticed blood still staining Xie Zheng's lips and went out to fetch hot water to clean him.

Xie Zheng watched her departing figure with a slight frown.

How had this turned into her being narrow-minded?

When Xie Wu brought the prepared medicine, it was Changyu who took it and fed Xie Zheng spoon by spoon.

The thick cloak retrieved from the rebel camp had served as Xie Zheng's bedding, now stained with blood. Knowing he valued cleanliness, Changyu returned to her quarters to fetch the cloak she and Changning used at night, covering Xie Zheng with it temporarily while she prepared to wash both the bloodied cloak and Xie Zheng's bloodstained clothes.

Xie Wu, fearing Changyu might notice something amiss while washing them, hurriedly took the task upon himself.By evening, Fan Changyu wanted to stay by Xie Zheng's side but was also worried about leaving Changning alone in their tent. Noticing there were extra army cots available in Xie Zheng's tent, she decided to bring Changning over to sleep there with her.

As she remade the beds, she wondered aloud, "The other infirmary tents are packed with wounded soldiers. Why are there so many empty beds here?"

The army doctors were doing everything to avoid Xie Zheng—how could they dare send other wounded soldiers to his tent?

On the mountain, both lamp oil and candles were precious. At night, nearly every tent relied on braziers for light.

The flames licked at the darkness, casting a warm golden glow over half of Xie Zheng's face. His refined features, as if painted with ink, stood out sharply against the firelight. Tilting his head slightly, he watched Fan Changyu make the beds and answered with a perfectly straight face, "Not sure. Maybe the army doctors have their own arrangements."

Unfamiliar with military camp logistics, Fan Changyu didn’t dwell on it. Once the beds were ready, she settled the drowsy Changning in and said to Xie Zheng, "If you need water or have to get up at night, just call for me."

At the mention of "getting up at night," Xie Zheng’s ears burned, and he stared at her in surprise.

Meeting his gaze, Fan Changyu suddenly understood and flushed as well. Turning away, she muttered, "What are you thinking? If you call, I’ll go find a patrolling soldier to help you."

For convenience, Fan Changyu and Changning’s cot was placed right next to Xie Zheng’s, barely three feet apart.

Exhausted from the past days, Fan Changyu fell asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow.

Only after listening to the steady breathing of both sisters did Xie Zheng turn his head toward their side. The brazier still held a smoldering log, its faint flickering light rippling over Fan Changyu’s face, lending her serene features an indescribable radiance.

A surge of emotion sprouted in his chest, fierce and relentless, like ten thousand ants gnawing at his heart. He stared for a long time at Fan Changyu’s slightly pursed lips, pressed from her side-sleeping posture. The darkness in his eyes grew thicker than the night itself. Yet, in the end, he did nothing. Turning away, he shut his eyes heavily and lay still.

The next day, a new batch of wounded soldiers was assigned to the tent—some with injured arms, others with hurt legs, but none so incapacitated that they couldn’t assist each other.

Fan Changyu took on the task of brewing medicine for them, which also made it easier to care for Xie Zheng during the day. At night, she and Changning returned to their own tent, leaving Xie Zheng in the care of the new arrivals.

These wounded soldiers were surprisingly amiable and quiet, unlike the ones Fan Changyu had tended to before. She chalked it up to individual differences and thought little of it.

Unbeknownst to her, these men were Xie Zheng’s personal guards who had been injured. The night before, after hearing Fan Changyu’s question, he had instructed Gongsun Yin to transfer them here.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

During her spare moments, Fan Changyu pulled out books from her bundle to study. With Yan Zheng nearby as a ready-made tutor, she could ask him directly whenever she didn’t understand something.

Noticing she was reading Mencius , Xie Zheng asked, "Finished The Analects ?"

Fan Changyu nodded honestly. "Yes."When memories of her protecting Li Huaian during the mountain bandit attack surfaced, Xie Zheng raised his slender phoenix eyes slightly and asked, "Did you learn this from reading books yourself?"

Fan Changyu replied, "The articles inside are profound. Even with annotations, many parts remained unclear. When I was working on the dam upstream in Jizhou, I met an old gentleman. Stern-faced but kind-hearted, he taught me until I understood."

Speaking of Old Tao, Fan Changyu's expression grew more respectful. "You wouldn't believe it, but that old man was quite an extraordinary figure. He later became a military advisor. It's just that he's advanced in years with no children, and his only student abandoned him. Quite pitiful really. When we were quarrying stones together in the mountains, he'd curse that student of his every day!"

Hearing it wasn't Li Huaian who taught her, Xie Zheng felt relieved. Yet learning about Changyu being mistaken for a spy and forced to quarry stones for the dam construction gave him mixed feelings.

The strategy had been his idea, but the workforce building the dam came from He Jingyuan's side. At that time, he'd been stationed in Yanzhou and truly hadn't known Fan Changyu was detained there.

He only commented on her earlier words: "If his student disrespects his teacher, now that he's in a position of influence, he should teach that student a lesson."

Fan Changyu glanced at Xie Zheng disapprovingly. "Old Mr. Tao might have a sharp tongue, but his heart is magnanimous."

When Xie Zheng heard the old man's surname was Tao, his fingers paused slightly on the book page. "What's his name?"

Fan Changyu said, "I don't know. He only said his surname was Tao."

There were countless Taos in the world. Xie Zheng considered the old man constantly cursing his ingrate student - this bore no resemblance to Grand Tutor Tao at all. If his teacher had emerged from seclusion after all these years, he would have come to him first.

Suppressing these thoughts, he said, "Since he helped you, we can arrange some advancement for him in the future."

The moment these words left his mouth, Fan Changyu stared at him strangely.

Realizing his slip, before he could remedy it, Fan Changyu frowned and said, "Old Mr. Tao is already an advisor under General Tang's command. What could you possibly do for him? You're not a general. Don't say such careless things - how improper it would be if Old Mr. Tao heard."

Xie Zheng choked momentarily before responding, "I meant in the future."

Fan Changyu looked somewhat exasperated. "Are you so certain you'll become a general?"

Xie Zheng's expression shifted slightly as he lifted his eyes from the scroll. "What if I attain a position higher than general?"

Fan Changyu looked puzzled. "What's higher than a general?"

Xie Zheng said casually, "Becoming a marquis or chancellor."

Abandoning her book, Fan Changyu asked him, "Does your wound still hurt?"

Having been meticulously cared for these past days, Xie Zheng wasn't sure why she suddenly asked this. He measured his words: "It's bearable, though any exertion causes sharp pain."

In truth, it was nearly healed - unless he used excessive force, the pain was minimal.

Fan Changyu handed him the cooled medicine bowl. "Take your medicine first. Focus on recovering before dreaming about titles and positions."

Xie Zheng: "..."

Two days later, Xie Zheng's injury still showed no "improvement." Gongsun Yin, dark circles under his eyes from being overwhelmed by military affairs and memorials from the capital, arrived with murderous intent to visit the "patient."

Having not seen him for some time, Fan Changyu was startled by Gongsun's haggard appearance. "Master Gongsun, what happened to you?"Gongsun Yin reined in his murderous aura, forcing out a refined smile. "Trivial matters have kept me rather busy."

Fan Changyu said, "You should still take care of your health, Gongsun."

Gongsun Yin smiled and agreed before asking, "How is your husband's injury?"

After a moment's thought, Fan Changyu replied, "The army doctor said his internal injuries are quite severe and will take time to heal. His wounds still pain him."

Maintaining his smile—though it looked more like gritted teeth—Gongsun Yin said, "Is that so? I'll go check on him."

Just as Fan Changyu left to prepare medicine, Gongsun Yin entered the tent and dismissed the personal guards who had been lying low for over half a month, their wounds already scabbed over but still bandaged to feign illness. He glared at Xie Zheng, who was napping with a book over his face, grinding his molars audibly before snatching the book away and roaring, "If your injuries don't 'heal' soon, I'll drop dead from exhaustion under that mountain of paperwork!"

The more he thought about how enthusiastically he had contributed to this plan, the more he regretted it.

This bastard was truly resting while he toiled like a donkey at a millstone.

No—even a donkey had it easier!

What sin had he committed to dig such a pit for himself?

With the book no longer shielding his eyes, the harsh daylight made Xie Zheng frown. When he lazily opened his eyes, his face—now fully restored from days of good food and rest—was strikingly handsome, enough to make Gongsun Yin's eyes burn with envy. He nearly strangled him on the spot.

Once upon a time, he had been the dashing, ethereal one! But ever since Xie Jiuhang holed up here pretending to be injured—lest Fan Changyu notice—he hadn't lifted a brush, at most sending one of his equally "injured" guards to relay orders and boss Gongsun Yin around.

Now, every time Gongsun Yin closed his eyes, he saw the towering pile of unfinished documents on his desk, threatening to be the death of him!

Xie Zheng sat up, ignoring Gongsun Yin's outburst. He glanced at the crumpled book, his weary gaze already tinged with displeasure. "Hand it over."

Curious, Gongsun Yin checked the cover and saw the words Mencius . He found it odd. "You studied the Four Books early on—why bring this to the mountains?"

Suspicious, he added, "You treasure it so much—is it some indecent book in disguise?"

Flipping through it, he noticed detailed annotations for every line. Though the handwriting was altered, Gongsun Yin recognized Xie Zheng's style instantly.

Before he could examine further, Xie Zheng snatched it back.

Gongsun Yin's indignation flared anew. "I've been mimicking your handwriting to process documents until my hand nearly fell off, and you had the leisure to annotate an entire Mencius ?"

Xie Zheng offered no explanation, only saying, "The Seven Sages' rare edition from my library—take it when we return."

Gongsun Yin immediately stopped wailing. Flicking open his fan, dark circles under his eyes, he grinned and fanned himself obsequiously. "Assisting the Marquis is but a strategist's duty."

Xie Zheng, long familiar with his temperament, showed no surprise at the swift change. He got down to business. "Chongzhou is besieged by Tang Zhaoyi's twenty thousand Jizhou troops, cutting off their supply lines. The rebels below the mountain have been attacking for days, exhausted and starving. It's time to wipe them out."

While the Yanzhou Army atop the mountain had been recuperating, the Chongzhou forces below had resorted to digging up roots and stripping bark for food since two days prior.After the burning of the provisions, the Chongzhou Army faced three choices: first, to return to Chongzhou; second, to eliminate the Yanzhou Army on the mountain; or third, to retreat without fighting to preserve their strength.

The first option, returning to Chongzhou, was fraught with peril. Twenty thousand Jizhou troops were stationed outside Chongzhou’s walls, and the rebels at the foot of the mountain would have to shed layers of skin just to enter the city. Even if they fought their way back, they would still face certain death once the main forces of Yanzhou and Jizhou encircled Chongzhou.

Changxin Wang, ever the shrewd strategist, had withdrawn only half his troops that day, likely anticipating the current predicament. The remaining half of the Chongzhou Army at the mountain’s base was the lifeline he had left for Chongzhou.

With Jizhou firmly secured and He Jingyuan mobilizing a large force toward Chongzhou, if Chongzhou fell, the Chongzhou Army at the foot of First Line Gorge could still break out, find a stable city to regroup, and rise again.

Commanding that army was Shi Yue, Changxin Wang’s trusted general.

Back then, to burn the Chongzhou Army’s provisions, Xie Zheng had deliberately used Sui Yuanqing as bait to tie down most of the rebel forces. In the end, Shi Yue had sacrificed countless lives to push through the mountain pass. Though he rescued Sui Yuanqing, the heavy losses, compounded by the destruction of their provisions, were a devastating blow.

Shi Yue had assumed the Yanzhou Army on the mountain, deprived of their hostage Sui Yuanqing and trapped for days, would have lost their will to fight. Enraged by the loss of their provisions, he ordered relentless assaults for half a month. Yet the treacherous terrain of First Line Gorge cost him even more troops.

Meanwhile, the elusive cavalry reinforcements from Yanzhou and Jizhou roamed the foothills, appearing and vanishing like ghosts. Whenever they encountered the Chongzhou Army, they fought if they could win and fled if they couldn’t. The infantry, with their two legs, could never catch up to the four-legged cavalry, leaving the Chongzhou commanders fuming.

Now, with provisions depleted below and the Yanzhou Army’s defenses still ironclad above, Shi Yue realized he could not trap Wu'an Marquis on the mountain and achieve a legendary victory. He quickly adjusted his strategy, secretly withdrawing part of his forces under cover of night.

With the failed assaults, preserving their strength was now the priority.

The mountain suddenly buzzed with the tension of impending battle. Fan Changyu heard all sorts of discussions about the coming fight in both the wounded soldier camp and the cookhouse camp.

Troops were constantly being deployed to various mountain passes. Stepping out of the tent, one could see military banners fluttering across the camp, with waves of soldiers surging toward their assigned positions.

Every wounded soldier who could still wield a blade was ordered back to their unit—including Xie Zheng.

Just by observing the preparations, Fan Changyu knew this battle would be perilous. But Yan Zheng’s wounds still throbbed with pain at the slightest exertion. How could he even hold a weapon? Going to the front lines would be suicide.

The thought of the bloody hole in Yan Zheng’s body filled her with unbearable anxiety.