{"id":3975,"date":"2026-06-14T11:14:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T11:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pursuit-of-jade-116\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T11:37:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T11:37:40","slug":"pursuit-of-jade-116","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/chapter\/pursuit-of-jade-116\/","title":{"rendered":"Pursuit of Jade 116"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 116

The night was cool as water.

Rippling reflections danced across the red lacquered pillars of the waterside pavilion.

The figure standing inside had his hands clasped behind his back. His dark robes seemed almost fused with the heavy darkness of the night.

“Has Lord Li decided how the memorial to the capital should be written?”

The deep voice drifted from the pavilion, carried by the night breeze and tinged with coldness.

Li Huai’an respectfully replied,

“Naturally, I will report everything truthfully to His Majesty.”

As the supervising official, he was the emperor’s eyes in the northwest. Every development on the front lines had to be reported back to the capital immediately.

Xie Zheng turned around with his hands behind his back. His phoenix eyes were sharp and intimidating.

“As the supervising official, Lord Li was also in Chongzhou. The rebels managed to leave Chongzhou under cover of night. Surely Lord Li cannot escape responsibility for that.”

Li Huai’an maintained his bow.

The wide sleeves hanging before his knees fluttered in the wind from the lake, yet he still appeared every bit the upright gentleman.

He lowered his head and said,

“It was indeed this official’s failure to fulfill his duties of supervision. I will truthfully report the matter to His Majesty and request punishment.”

The wind by the lake was strong.

The two men stood facing each other from a distance of one zhang, their hair and robes stirred by the night breeze.

Xie Zheng stood half a head taller than Li Huai’an.

With the latter bowing, Xie Zheng was practically looking down upon him.

For a long time, he said nothing.

His cold and imposing presence was hidden beneath his handsome, stern features. Outsiders could not detect even the slightest emotion leaking from him, nor could they guess what he was thinking.

Yet the pressure Li Huai’an felt did not lessen in the slightest.

He found himself secretly studying the young man standing a zhang away.

Receiving a marquis title before reaching twenty years of age, Xie Zheng could truly be called heaven’s favored son.

Before the Battle of Chongzhou, he had never suffered defeat and had never concealed his brilliance.

Everyone knew he was the sharpest blade in Great Yin.

But now, he no longer displayed that edge openly.

Instead, he resembled a massive cliffside rock, weathered by years of wind and sun yet still towering and unyielding.

Xie Zheng suddenly asked,

“Lord Li is highly learned. I assume you’ve read Battle South of the City?”

Though they were of the same generation, for some reason Li Huai’an felt the same nervousness he only ever experienced in front of his grandfather.

Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, he calmly met Xie Zheng’s gaze.

“What is it that the Marquis wishes to say?”

Xie Zheng replied,

“I wish to present Lord Li with two lines from Battle South of the City:

‘The soldiers lie scattered among the wild grasses, while the generals have achieved nothing. Only then does one realize that weapons are instruments of misfortune, which even sages employ only when they have no other choice.'”

His voice was cold and heavy.

Each word struck Li Huai’an’s heart like a hammer.

Though he had already suspected it, hearing those words spoken aloud still caused his pupils to contract violently.

He truly knew everything.

Guilt and the terror of knowing that the Li family would bear eternal infamy once the truth emerged tore at him from within.

In an instant, cold sweat soaked his back.

Xie Zheng stepped out of the pavilion.

As he passed Li Huai’an, he paused briefly.

“I hope Lord Li will reflect carefully upon Battle South of the City.”

Even after Xie Zheng had walked away, Li Huai’an remained standing motionless.

The moment his grandfather decided to join forces with the imperial grandson and use this scheme to bring down Wei Yan, he had known many people would die.

But compared to eliminating Wei Yan’s faction and cleansing the court, what did the deaths of some soldiers in this remote frontier region matter?

Had any great reform throughout history ever come without casualties?

Minor reforms governed for the people, with law serving as a tool.

Major reforms governed through law, with people becoming secondary.

To completely bring down Wei Yan, a great transformation was necessary.

Only then could the corrupt and decaying bureaucracy of Great Yin regain vitality.

If people became secondary, then sacrifice was inevitable.

Yet after hearing Xie Zheng speak the words, “which even sages employ only when they have no other choice,” he found himself unable even to argue that everything had been done for the sake of preserving the empire.

Traveling with the army from Chongzhou to Lu City, he had witnessed firsthand how cruel war truly was.

Corpses piled into mountains.

Blood flowed like rivers.

And in order to bring down Wei Yan, they themselves had engineered a living hell.

Covering his face with one hand, Li Huai’an suddenly burst into sorrowful laughter.

He thought:

They had been wrong.

\u2014

After Xie Zheng returned to his temporary residence, Xie Eleven hurried over with a report.

“My Lord, Zhao Xun has secretly examined Sui Yuanhuai’s corpse. Just as you predicted, the dead man is not Sui Yuanhuai but a body double who had been raised by his side since childhood.”

Lan Shi had once served beside the Crown Princess and was extremely cautious.

After the Eastern Palace fire, she had prepared a substitute for Sui Yuanhuai in case of emergencies.

The substitute not only shared a similar build, but to avoid arousing suspicion within the prince’s residence, his scars had even been recreated one by one using branding irons to match Sui Yuanhuai’s burns.

For the sake of reclaiming the throne one day, Sui Yuanhuai had endured agonizing pain and gradually replaced all the burned skin on his body.

The substitute, however, had remained permanently scarred.

Since everyone serving in Sui Yuanhuai’s courtyard belonged to Lan Shi, and because of his notorious reputation for cruelty, few servants from elsewhere in the estate dared approach him.

He rarely met visitors and even wore a mask when seeing Princess Consort Changxin.

As a result, almost no one in the entire estate had ever seen Sui Yuanhuai’s true face.

It seemed Lan Shi had prepared the substitute from the very beginning so that one day he could shed his shell and disappear from Prince Changxin’s estate.

Xie Zheng removed his dark outer robe and handed it to the guard at the door without speaking.

Xie Eleven cautiously continued,

“Zhao Xun also examined the captured mother and son. They are not Sui Yuanhuai’s concubine and child either.”

Walking behind his desk, Xie Zheng sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.

“I know.”

The woman beside Sui Yuanhuai had been Yu Qianqian.

Since the captured mother and son had been bold enough to return, he had already gone to see them.

They were not Yu Qianqian and Yu Bao’er.

Previously, he had not realized that Sui Yuanhuai’s attack on Lu City was itself part of a larger scheme.

Now it was obvious that Sui Yuanhuai had prepared his escape long ago.

Even stand-ins for Yu Qianqian and her son had been arranged from the beginning.

Had he failed to arrive in time today, Lu City would have fallen.

Yet once Tang Peiyi’s reinforcements arrived, the rabble occupying the city would not have held it for long.

Before that happened, however, they would have slaughtered countless people.

Sui Yuanhuai would never restrain them.

What he wanted was for Lu City to fall and for misery and devastation to fill every corner afterward.

Only then would the censors in the capital possess enough horrific tragedies to use as weapons when impeaching Wei Yan.

Each massacre would become another blade, pinning Wei Yan forever to a crime that outraged both heaven and humanity.

The more Xie Zheng understood this, the colder his expression became.

Seeing his dark mood, Xie Eleven assumed it was because Sui Yuanhuai and all his associates had escaped.

“Xie One and the others are searching throughout the city. I believe there will be results soon.”

However, Xie Zheng ordered,

“Call them back for now.”

Xie Eleven blinked in confusion.

“My Lord, why?”

The reflection of two candles on the bronze lamp stand flickered in Xie Zheng’s dark eyes.

“Sui Yuanhuai established ties with the Li family long ago. Since Zhao Xun never returned, if Sui Yuanhuai is cautious enough, he won’t continue relying on the Zhao family’s influence after escaping. He’ll seek shelter with the Li family instead. If he refuses to reveal himself, searching is pointless.”

Upon hearing that, Xie Eleven immediately realized the matter was more complicated than it appeared.

“My Lord, does that mean all we can do now is wait?”

Instead of answering directly, Xie Zheng asked,

“Is Princess Consort Changxin dead as well?”

Xie Eleven nodded.

“She was discovered in the same tent as the substitute’s corpse. Both died by cutting their own throats.”

Naturally, they had chosen suicide to avoid being captured alive and interrogated.

The pursuing generals had identified the corpse as Sui Yuanhuai not only because of the luxurious clothing and burn scars, but also because Princess Consort Changxin had died beside him.

Even while fleeing Chongzhou, Sui Yuanhuai had brought her along.

Presumably, she too had been part of the plan to ensure a flawless escape.

Xie Zheng said,

“Send this information to Sui Yuanqing.”

Among Xie Zheng’s personal guards, Xie Eleven was the youngest and less steady than Xie Wu and the others.

Scratching his head, he asked,

“My Lord, Sui Yuanqing is just a prisoner now. Even if he has reason to avenge his mother’s death, what good will telling him do if no one can find Sui Yuanhuai?”

Xie Zheng merely replied,

“Do as I say.”

His conversation with Li Huai’an tonight had been deliberate.

Li Huai’an didn’t know how much Xie Zheng had uncovered.

He only knew their scheme had been exposed.

Sooner or later, he would try contacting Sui Yuanhuai to discuss what to do next.

As long as someone kept a close watch on Li Huai’an, they could simply wait for him to expose Sui Yuanhuai’s hiding place himself.

Just as Xie Eleven prepared to leave, he suddenly remembered another important matter.

Looking toward Xie Zheng, he hesitated.

“My Lord… I’ve also investigated Miss Fan’s situation…”

\u2014

Moonlight filtered through the gauze-covered window and spread across the room like silver frost.

The young woman lying on the bed slept deeply.

Her dark hair covered the pillow in a soft cascade, and her head was tilted slightly to one side.

In the circular armchair beside the window sat a man who had been there for an unknown length of time.

Moonlight cast his long shadow across the floor beside her bed.

In his hand, Xie Zheng held the bloodstained bandages Fan Changyu had removed earlier.

Silently, he gazed at the slender figure beneath the blanket.

She had grown much thinner.

Large and small wounds covered her body.

Even in sleep, she curled slightly onto her side like a leopard that never fully lowered its guard.

Xie Eleven’s report still echoed in his ears.

“When the rebel army surrounded the city, Miss Fan feared Lu City wouldn’t be able to hold out. She volunteered to leave the city and challenge the enemy commanders alone to buy time. It is said she declared herself Meng Changyu, descendant of General Meng Shuyuan, and was willing to sacrifice her life to restore her ancestor’s honor.”

“The sixteen men who fought her used ruthless techniques unlike ordinary soldiers. Outnumbered sixteen to one, Miss Fan was nearly killed…”

Every word landed heavily upon Xie Zheng’s heart, making it difficult to breathe.

A sharp, persistent pain spread through his chest.

His throat grew itchy.

Afraid of waking her, he covered his mouth and coughed softly twice before suppressing the urge.

The moment he realized she had truly gone out intending to die, that if he had arrived even a little later she would already be a cold corpse beneath the city walls, the fury and fear raging within his bones became impossible to suppress.

The blood-soaked bandages discarded in the basket nearby seemed unbearably glaring.

When he first saw her earlier that day, her wounds had already been wrapped, revealing little.

Only after hearing Xie Eleven’s report that she had fought more than a dozen of Sui Yuanhuai’s death warriors did he understand what she had endured.

Those death warriors had originally been left to the Crown Princess by Crown Prince Chengde.

After the Crown Princess perished in the Eastern Palace fire, they became Sui Yuanhuai’s servants.

Every one of them was a supreme expert.

Few people survived encounters with them.

Xie Zheng felt an ache deep in his teeth.

It was as though insects were gnawing at his veins.

The muscles at his temples bulged.

Even the pain from the reopened whip wounds on his back became insignificant.

The realization that she had nearly died felt like a nightmare from his youth awakening once more and wrapping itself around him again.

Nothing else mattered anymore.

As long as she was still alive.

In the darkness, Xie Zheng pressed a hand against his aching forehead.

His pale face appeared cold and breathtakingly beautiful beneath the moonlight.

His dark eyes never left the sleeping Fan Changyu.

Perhaps even in her dreams she sensed the intensity of his gaze.

The figure on the bed shifted uneasily.

Xie Zheng reached out and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

His fingertips hovered near her cheek, as though he wished to touch her but was forcing himself not to.

In a low voice, he whispered,

“In this world, no one has the right to make you die.”<\/p>","protected":false},"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"novel":[],"class_list":["post-3975","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3975"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3976,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3975\/revisions\/3976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=3975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}